One of the best parts of being a wedding photographer is the fact that it allows me to be surrounded by my favorite thing in the world, love. Unconditional love, family love, friend love, lover's love, it's what makes life worth living and it's my greatest inspiration. People are all diffent at expressing their love. Some are shy and reserved, some are open and want to show it to the world.

I come from a family of huggers. I love to hold hands and touch and smell. Getting people to open up in front of the camera is my favorite. It takes trust. It involves all five senses working together. It's easy to simply make someone look good, it's when I capture real emotion that I feel like I have done something really special.

This shoot with Julie and Jenn was one of those shoots where I feel like I was able to capture the pure happiness these two feel for each other. We walked around Northside stopping whenever we saw something that caught our eye. Autumn was showing her most beautiful colors and Jenn and Julie were bursting with love. I am so excited for their intimate wedding next year and so thankful they trust me to capture their love.

Jen and Julie wore their Tie the Knot bow ties for part of their session. Here is a little more info about this organization from their website tietheknot.org.

"Tie The Knot was founded to combine all of our favorite things: humor, style, individuality, fashion, art, and equality. Founded by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita, the goal of Tie the Knot is clear: to advocate for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans throughout the United States and to look damn good while doing it.

It’s simple: We will release a collection of neckwear seasonally, inspired by our favorite art, fashion, things we see on the street, and things in our living room. Each bow tie will be produced in limited quantity to inspire and promote uniqueness & individuality. All proceeds from the sale of the bow ties will go to various organizations that are in the trenches fighting for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans every single day."

I love when couples choose locations that have special meaning to them for their photo sessions. It makes the shoot so much more personal. I met Sarah and Karen in Northside for this very sweet engagement session. Northside is where they had their first date and their first kiss. It was a real pleasure getting to know these two and hearing all about their love story. Unfortunately, the state of Ohio still has a ban on gay marriage so Sarah and Karen are officially getting married later this year in New York. They will be having a commitment ceremony at the Bell Event Centre . I am honored they want me there to photograph it.

Special thanks to Rachel at Brideface for dolling the girls up for the shoot, they looked fantastic!
I met Sarah and Karen at the Northside Tavern, where we planned on taking a few photos. There was a wedding reception at the bar and I could not get in due to a line down the street. I spotted Karen in the window and decided to shoot from outside instead. I love the way these turned out. Magic.Northside is full of color and interesting art. We had a little fun with some of the wall murals. :)Love. Sidewinder Coffeshop where they had their first date. We headed over to Covington to get some images along the river.